I think Kobe has a whole lot to prove. The man needs to win another championship as the best player on the floor. But even after this I bet he will have his nay sayer still....the hate for Bryant is as blind or even worst then his blind fans.

Sort of like the Kobe lovers not giving Shaq his due for 4 rings, 3 Finals MVP's and 1 regular season MVP. Kobe's blind fans is worse.

It used to be that the playoffs were when the refs "let 'em play". What happened???

the fans wanted tighter officiating...they got sick of the knicks Vs the Heat aggresive type play.... the fans didnt want low scoring 84 - 87 games.....Well now we have what the fans asked for and they are still b*tchin....

Mark Cuban spearheaded alot of this complaining and lobbying the league to make these changes, so its ironic to see him be the most vocal protester of the results

Can we PLEASE stop with the Kobe/Jordan comparisons. Kobe is NOT and will NEVER be MJ. MJ never quit on his team to prove a point on how much he is needed, esp in the playoffs. (can we say the same for kobe?) As for Phil, he is such a hypocrit. Someone should remind him of the quotes he said about Kobe in his book, and now all of a sudden Kobe is the best? pure hypocrisy

Can we PLEASE stop with the Kobe/Jordan comparisons. Kobe is NOT and will NEVER be MJ. MJ never quit on his team to prove a point on how much he is needed, esp in the playoffs. (can we say the same for kobe?) As for Phil, he is such a hypocrit. Someone should remind him of the quotes he said about Kobe in his book, and now all of a sudden Kobe is the best? pure hypocrisy

What were some of the things he said about Kobe in his book?

But yeah, Kobe quiting in game 7 against the Suns was just pathetic...

the fans wanted tighter officiating...they got sick of the knicks Vs the Heat aggresive type play.... the fans didnt want low scoring 84 - 87 games.....Well now we have what the fans asked for and they are still b*tchin....

Mark Cuban spearheaded alot of this complaining and lobbying the league to make these changes, so its ironic to see him be the most vocal protester of the results

i agree so much!

i heard this second hand, but dan patrick said that most teams take on the personality of their coach. the mavs took on the personality of their owner.

Phil chose to come back to the Lakers without Shaq, knowing that Kobe would be the number 1 option.....I think that speaks volumes about what he thinks about Kobe's talent and potential to lead a team to a title.His reputation and legacy is now in the hands of Kobe Bryant, nevermind the money. Of course he thinks highly about Kobe as a basketball player.

Plug Kobe in to the Heat roster and put Wade on the Lakers this year, and I think you'd see similar results.....Wade leading the league in scoring and getting put out in the 1st round and Kobe winning another title with Shaq. If you disagree,lets discuss.

And about this "Wade got all the calls argument" ......refs always have, and always will reward the aggressive team. Wade was taking the ball aggressively to the hole, while the Mavs were relying on contested jumpers and run outs. I agree that Wade got a lot of calls in his favor, but when you put the onus on the refs to make a call with the floor spread out the way it was, an environment for getting calls in your favor is created. The heat played it to perfection. man for man I'd take the Mavs roster and scheme, but the Heat turned into Wade vs whomever he was guarding, negating the Mavs depth at all the other positions. They played just enough defense on Dirk to get wins.

Phil chose to come back to the Lakers without Shaq, knowing that Kobe would be the number 1 option.....I think that speaks volumes about what he thinks about Kobe's talent and potential to lead a team to a title.His reputation and legacy is now in the hands of Kobe Bryant, nevermind the money. Of course he thinks highly about Kobe as a basketball player.

Plug Kobe in to the Heat roster and put Wade on the Lakers this year, and I think you'd see similar results.....Wade leading the league in scoring and getting put out in the 1st round and Kobe winning another title with Shaq. If you disagree,lets discuss.

I disagree, Phil came back because o fhte money and Jennie Buss. Keep in mind that Phil also came close to signing with the Knicks KNOWING that the organization was in disarray and Steph was going to be the number one option, not saying much for Kobe. And as far as how the finals went down, the results WOULD NOT have been the same. Kobe on that Heats rosters would be a disaster. Championships are won with team cohesiveness, not with big names. if that was the case, lakers would have won it with Karl, payton , shaq and who else?....thats right KOBE!!